In a world filled with stories of fate and near-death experiences, it’s not uncommon to hear tales of individuals narrowly escaping disaster.
Some of these stories remain hidden for years, while others become the stuff of legends.
Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the hit show “Family Guy,” is one such individual whose brush with death went unnoticed for quite some time.
Unlike many who survive such harrowing ordeals, MacFarlane has never openly expressed any feelings of survivor’s guilt.
However, deep down, only MacFarlane truly knows how he feels about the incident that could have claimed his life.
His story is connected to one of the most significant events in American history – the September 11 attacks.
If circumstances had been different, he would have been a victim of that tragic day.
MacFarlane was slated to be on American Airlines Flight 11 departing from Boston on the morning of September 11, 2001.
However, due to his late-night partying following a speech at his alma mater, he arrived at the airport behind schedule.
Ironically, it was his oversleeping that ultimately saved his life – a twist of fate that seems almost surreal in retrospect.
When MacFarlane woke up and turned on the television, he saw the reports of the plane he was supposed to be on crashing into the North Tower.
Within the same hour, he witnessed the second plane strike the other tower.
MacFarlane narrowly missed the flight by a mere 15 minutes.
In several interviews over the years, he has recounted the incident.
Speaking with Rove McManus, MacFarlane revealed, “I was booked on the first flight that hit the tower, and I was drinking the night before, overslept a little bit in conjunction with the fact that my travel agent screwed up the itinerary by about 15 minutes, so I arrived 10 minutes late to get on the plane.”
Upon reaching the counter, MacFarlane was informed that the gates had just closed.
He subsequently booked another flight for later that morning.
Helplessly hungover, he watched as the planes crashed into the towers.
During an interview with Piers Morgan, MacFarlane shared his thoughts on the incident: “I went into the lounge, fell asleep, woke up about 45 minutes later to a commotion, and the first plane had hit.
And sat there and watched the second plane hit.
And they announced what flight it was.
And I turned to the guy next to me and said, ‘my God, that was the flight I was supposed to be on.
I was late.
I missed it.'”
One might expect such a traumatic experience to radically alter MacFarlane’s perspective on life, potentially leading to survivor’s guilt or profound introspection.
While he vowed never to joke about 9/11, references to the tragedy have been made on “Family Guy.”
Interestingly, the show faced uncertain times in 2001 when the attacks occurred.
If fate had taken a different turn, it could have marked the end of the series.
However, no one could have predicted that “Family Guy” would continue for 21 more years.
Although MacFarlane has never made light of the actual events of 9/11, he has taken aim at former President George W. Bush regarding the tragedy.
Numerous episodes of “Family Guy” contain political satire related to 9/11.
It seems that MacFarlane has chosen not to directly address the eerie coincidence of surviving the terrorist attacks through his show.
Perhaps it is his ability to approach the topic of 9/11 with a unique comedic lens that has allowed him to carry on despite the odds.
